The energy aboard the Blackjack was very different from when the Returners had first stepped foot onboard in Jidoor just a few weeks ago. There was a thrum of energy as Moonbyul and Yooa barked orders, directing the crew to make ready to cast off and return to the skies. The Battle of Mobliz hadn’t exactly been a consummate victory, but they had still managed to rout the Empire. This is what the Returners were supposed to do, even driven to the brink of extinction, this small pocket of resistance had somehow won the day.

 

Ah, Yeri thought. That’s what it was… hope.

 

There are many different kinds of love, Yeri thought as she lifted her head from her arms folded over the railing of the Blackjack. Her gaze was drawn to Wendy who had exclaimed suddenly and Seulgi who had laughed uproariously, and Irene smiling, her eyes uneasy as she glanced between them both.

 

Her gaze swept over the rag-tag mix of people, until she paused at a curious sight. The three biggest troublemakers of the bunch: the ex-Imperial General, the Witch, and the… chocobo rancher gathered near the bow, conversing. It was easy for Yeri to pick up some tension between the three of them, though she supposed it couldn’t be helped. Until Wendy regained her memories, it was likely to remain that way. Though whether or not she ever would remember, that was still an open question, it seemed.

 

Wendy clenched her fists in what Yeri could only guess was a show of determination before heading off to join Yooa on some errand up in the rigging, and Irene visibly relaxed at her departure. Yeri smirked wanly.

 

It was a vain exercise to guess whose situation was less enviable, Irene’s or her own.

 

Yes, there were many, many different kinds of love. Maybe there were as many different kinds of love as there were people. It was a lonely thought - that would mean no one would ever quite understand the love she had once shared, the love she had lost before she had even realized she had found it.

 

Wendy was also relieved to be away from Irene for the moment. It had been a dark few days while the ex-general had been recovering from her… exertion, and Wendy couldn’t help but feel responsible for the results. It was enough that Irene seemed back to herself, though it barely calmed Wendy’s nerves. She had ruminated on that single spark of recognition there in the kitchen of Seulgi’s home, that memory of their maestro’s practice room, Irene, a young girl, watching her without fear or apprehension.

 

They had grown up together, though she couldn’t remember hardly any of it. But she knew it. And until she remembered the rest, until she remembered everything, she didn’t want to risk losing Irene, as much as it seemed like Irene wasn’t willing to lose her.

 

Yooa was glad for some company as Wendy joined her, but she had barely hooked a foot in the rigging before Wendy suddenly asked, “I hope you don’t mind me coming right out and asking, but who are you?”

 

“M-me?!” Yooa choked out in surprise.

 

“I mean all of you, here on this ship,” Wendy clarified. “I heard you guys calling yourselves the Returners…”

 

Yooa took a moment to think, climbing several yards towards the massive blimp before answering. “I don’t know if I’d say we’re Returners,” she began first to herself, then more loudly over the roar of the wind, “I mean, we’re just the crew of the Blackjack.” What did the little witch want to hear? That they were smugglers? Con artists? Gamblers? “We’re against the Empire, but I wouldn’t exactly loop us in with the real resistance.”

 

Wendy thought that was a little disingenuous considering they had just gone toe to toe against Imperial soldiers in Mobliz. She knew they seemed to be persons of dubious morality, but, “You seem pretty heroic to me,” she murmured as she tried to keep up with Yooa.

 

“What’s that?” Yooa called down as the wind whipped their voices away into the clouds as the ship carried them higher.

 

“Nothing,” Wendy called back. She waited until they had reached the top, Yooa helping her carefully pull herself up onto the steel-plated balloon that kept them all aloft. “So then… who am I?”

 

Again Yooa paused, regretting that Wendy had volunteered to help. “Well…”

 

“The soldiers in Mobliz, they called me the Witch, and I… I remember… killing them.”

 

“I don’t think I should be the one-” Yooa tried, but Wendy seemed not to hear.

 

“And Irene, she was worried about them taking me, but… the Sky Armor… and…” and the lessons. And the General. “I was part of the Empire, wasn’t I?”

 

Yooa watched her with a sympathetic look. “If it makes you feel better, Irene says you did it all against your will.”

 

But instead of that calming her, Wendy suddenly looked haunted and quickly glanced up at Yooa. “What did I do?” she asked, stepping closer. “Please, tell me! Please!” She reached up to grab Yooa by the shoulders. She had to know. Everyone was dancing around something that they all seemed to know but wanted to spare her from, but she couldn’t stand it.

 

Yooa wasn’t sure what to say. “You… you’re…” It seemed like Wendy wasn’t going to let it drop, but even if Yooa told her the truth, what purpose did it serve now?

 

“Please,” Wendy said, with less volume but no less desperation. “I feel like I’m walking around in a dream that threatens to turn into a nightmare. And why, why do I have these… horrible memories… why,” she asked shakily as she pulled her trembling hands away from Yooa. “Why did I do it? Why did I kill them all?” she ended in a fearful whisper.

 

Yooa looked out at the expanse of clouds, a milky white sea that threatened to blind her with its brilliance as it reflected the sun. “You were part of the Empire,” she confirmed. “They… used you as a weapon. The weapon, actually. Everyone learned to fear ‘the Witch’ of the Empire, a mon- er a force so powerful, she could wipe out an entire army- an entire city by herself. Nothing could withstand her, and the Empire knew it. Even the mere threat of her would make kingdoms surrender.”

 

Wendy made herself listen, not just to Yooa’s explanation, but to her tone. But the fact that Yooa spoke about ‘the Witch’ like she was someone else didn’t soften the blow.

 

“But that wasn’t you,” Yooa insisted, finally turning to Wendy. “Irene said they were using some kind of device, a crown that made you do everything they wanted.”

 

It was a small comfort, but until Wendy regained her memories, she couldn’t be too sure. And there was another point besides. “But… why do I have this ability? Why me?”

 

Yooa was almost relieved to answer that question. “That is a question for Irene - I don’t know why you two can use magic, but… it’s not exactly common. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t talk about it with anyone else except us.”

 

She saw Wendy nod, but her expression was distant. Yooa grabbed her shoulder and made the short girl look into her eyes. “Hey. You’re with us now. You’re a good person, Wendy. Don’t let anyone call you a witch ever again, alright? Prove them wrong.”

 

Finally Wendy gave her a smile, if a small one. She didn’t want to go to Irene with any of her questions just yet so she would have to be content with this for now. She just wished the echoes of screams would stop ringing in her ears.

 

+++

 

“What are you looking at?” Seulgi asked, lingering in the open doorway of Irene’s quarters as she let her fingers lightly rap on the frame. Moonbyul’s floating galleon was designed to entertain and had no shortage of places where guests could go for recreation or relaxation. It would have felt luxurious were it not for the circumstances.

 

Irene hugged something to her chest as she started. When she turned, Seulgi saw it was some paperwork. “Just these,” Irene admitted. As Seulgi approached, she slowly relaxed and let Seulgi see the two folders.

 

“‘Joohyun’?”

 

“And ‘Seungwan’,” Irene read. “Heechul- the Chief Engineer gave them to me before we left the Magitek Factory in Vector.”

 

Seulgi was astounded that Irene had found time to grab some files in the chaos of their attack on the ziggurat. “What are they?”

 

“It’s me,” Irene said in the quietest voice Seulgi had ever heard as she passed over the folder titled ‘Joohyun’. She held the other to her chest as she waited for Seulgi to open it.

 

Seulgi glanced at her briefly before thumbing the folder open. The pages inside were almost as faded as the label on the outside.

 

I finally met her. She doesn’t seem very remarkable. In fact, if anything I’d say she’s unusually small for her age. If not for the look in her eye, I’d question why she was selected at all, but she does seem fit to the task. An almost unpleasant child. I don’t think she spoke once the entire visit, and certainly didn’t smile or laugh. The orphanage didn’t know her history. They said she was turned over to them by the guard, so there is no way to say how she will grow or what her natural abilities will be.

 

 

Seulgi looked up from the page in shock.

 

“What is it?” Irene asked, more worried about the look on Seulgi’s face than what she may have read in the file.

 

“Have you… read this already?”

 

Irene nodded. “I read it… and lived it,” she added with a wry expression, though it was brief. “My first memories are of the army, and Heechul’s laboratory. It’s what I grew up with. That’s why… when Yeri tried to kill him, I…”

 

“He’s kind of like your family…” Seulgi put together. Irene nodded.

 

“That must sound horrible.” The Chief Engineer was not a good man.

 

Seulgi shook her head and pulled Irene into a hug, rubbing her back. “Yeri told me when you left the empire, you gave up everything. I guess it was even more than I realized.”

 

Irene slowly, reluctantly pulled away. “Almost everything. This one is Wendy’s,” she said, holding up the other file. Seulgi didn’t reach for it, and Irene didn’t offer it. Neither of them felt right reading it.

 

“When are you going to give it to her?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

+++

 

The Great Hall of Emperor Gestahl’s Iron Ziggurat was shuttered in darkness. The lone servant who had sought to use the empty hall as a shortcut across cursed himself as he could barely see his hand in front of his face.

 

“Not even a damned window cracked?” he muttered to himself as fumbled his way through the blackness, bluntly smacking into one of the great pillars with his outstretched hands. “Ow- Odin be damned… should light some of these,” he continued as he felt around the pillar until he touched the glass of the oil lamp. Pulling a lighter from his belt, he flicked it over and over, the sound swallowed up in the darkness until he produced a light. Standing up on his tiptoes, he tilted back the glass hood of the lamp and lit the wick inside and was immediately rewarded with a pool of light that spilled around his feet and the base of the pillar. That single light was hardly enough to see more than the silhouettes of the next pillars immediately to the right and left, however.

 

Moving on to the next one, he decided he might as well light them all and prepare the room in case the emperor happened to need it. Finishing one row of the lamps ensconced along the pillars he made his way across the hall to the other row, now able to dimly perceive the faded red carpet that cut down the middle of the room and led right up to the iron diaz the throne sat upon.

 

The sharp echo of the heel of his boots dulled as he crossed the carpet, the outline of the great iron throne looming over him on its stepped diaz. His eyes fell from that imperious shadow down to his own feet, when he realized the carpet beneath his boot was stained.

 

“Odin take it!” he spat irritably as he picked up his feet to step around the stain, crouching to inspect it with the small flame of his lighter. It was the end of a spill, and he followed the trail of it to the base of the diaz where it pooled in a viscous puddle. Step by step he continued upwards, raising his lighter higher and higher in a shaking hand.

 

“What in the Goddesses’ names…” he whispered as he saw black boots, and the unmistakable hem of the emperor’s decorated cape. As the small lighter finally revealed the Emperor himself seated there in his throne, the servant retreated a step, almost losing his footing in what was now clearly blood that drained from a wound that nearly bisected the monarch where he sat. A wicked curved blade lay lodged in Emperor Gestahl’s chest, stuck fast in the broken tangle of his ribcage and pinning him to the back of the throne. The ornate falchion of the Court Wizard, Leeteuk.

 

The Emperor’s pale features wore a look of shock as he surveyed his empty, half-lit hall for the final time.

 

+++

 

Eunji and Somi had seen the pillars of white smoke long before they could perceive the towers of Castle Doma itself.

 

Doma was nearly unrecognizable to the handful of survivors who now toiled laboriously under the direction of the imperial battalion stationed there. The castle itself was finally clear of the thousands of bodies that had laid scattered where they fell from the poisoning, but the stench of their rot yet remained. Even with the approach of winter, windows all across the settlement remained open wide, allowing the ash of the massive pyres to drift in and coat everything that remained in a blanket of grey.

 

The drab scene was in conflict with the constant, frenetic noise and activity of the city itself. Magitek Armors patrolled the streets with a handful of infantry as work groups of peasants were ordered here and there to rebuild the city’s defenses and knock down houses near the perimeter.

 

“Horrible,” Somi breathed as she followed closely behind Imperial General Jung Eunji as she strode through the torn cobblestone streets towards the castle.

 

Eunji bowed her head. It was good to know there were still some soldiers in her army that felt compassion for their fellow man, even if they were the enemy. “This… this will become our base in the north,” Eunji whispered back. “For our campaign against Figaro.” Such a thing was only possible now because of the success of Heechul’s Sky Armors - the way the pieces fell together made their victory feel inevitable.

 

Somi was looking for a way out. This was her chance, now that she was off the Southern Continent, but Eunji’s explanation tempted her to stay a bit longer. “But ma’am,” she began, pushing her pilot’s goggles up to her forehead. “Um, I heard Figaro is also gathering strength.”

 

Eunji slowed her strides as the castle’s austere facade loomed ahead. “You’re right. If I have anything to say about it, though, we’ll need to wait until the spring to make our move. Hopefully we can reach some sort of agreement with Queen Sooyoung before then.”

 

“You… do have a say in it, don’t you? General Jung?” Somi was shocked to say the least. A break for the winter? A treaty? These seemed like sentimental ideals soldiers of a time long gone clung to.

 

Eunji smiled grimly to herself. “But we’re not staying here for long - in fact you should return to the copter. I will need to depart for Thamasa within the hour.”

 

“Thamasa?!” Somi sputtered, causing Eunji to finally look back at her with wide eyes.

 

“Yes?” Eunji clarified. “Doma was just a stop to rest and check in with the front on our way to the Gate- er, the village of Thamasa. Were you not briefed on this mission?”

 

Somi balked and pulled her goggles back over her face. “Uh, n-no, ma’am, the uh… the mission came together very quickly and I wasn’t even supposed to be your pilot but then other guy he-”

 

Eunji waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. I want to reach Thamasa as quickly as possible so please be ready. I’ll return in one hour, once I’ve spoken to the Commander here.”

 

Somi only remembered to salute after a moment, but then spun on her heel and trotted back to their Sky Armor. So Eunji was going to Thamasa? But what was ‘The Gate’? It sounded familiar… something she had heard Eunji, that clown, and the Emperor arguing about before in Vector. Somi had assumed that was some sort of military code name for Doma, but clearly Eunji was on a completely different errand. Still, Thamasa was quite out of the way. She couldn’t imagine such a small, isolated village could be of any importance to the Empire, especially as it was gearing up for a final showdown with the Kingdom of Figaro.

 

It was possibly the most foolish decision Somi had ever made in her young life, but she decided to keep the charade up a little bit longer and see what the Imperial General was really up to.

 

+++

 

 

It was only a matter of hours before Sohee finally spotted the thin peninsula jutting out into the North Sea, the isolated spit of land beyond the mountains where Thamasa was found. Sujeong took them as close as they dared to get to the palisade walls of the village, the wild forests that surrounded the settlement making them have to practically land on the only road that led into town. Moonbyul directed the crew of the Blackjack to take the airship somewhere safe nearby once she and the Returners disembarked.

 

Queen Joy, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Moonbyul, and Yeri were joined by Solji and Junghwa and the conspicuous group was sure they had already attracted plenty of attention and strode into the town without much ceremony.

 

Indeed, Yeri led the way.

 

“You’ve been here before, right?” Irene asked in a low murmur. She seemed to recall that fact from a conversation that felt like it had taken place ages ago. “In Narshe, when we talked about it, you seemed to know an awful lot about this place.”

 

Yeri didn’t respond right away, not until Joy put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “It’s… been a while,” she admitted, only giving Joy a quick glance and a halfhearted smile.

 

The town was even more quaint than Mobliz, with its wattle and dab buildings, none taller than two stories. No signs hung out in front of them, identifying them as shops or inns or taverns. Indeed Irene wasn’t sure Thamasa had much in the way of an economy at all from the looks of it.

 

And more than that, there were no people.

 

Yeri realized how tensely she was carrying herself when she felt Solji’s hand on her shoulder.

 

“But where is everyone?” the leader of the Slam Shuffle Gang asked quietly.

 

Yeri could only give her a confused look. “I’m not sure what’s going on…” she responded in an equally hushed voice.

 

“Probably just afraid of outsiders,” Moonbyul posited as she tried to see into the windows of the buildings they passed. “There’s a lot of us. But it doesn’t look like there are any shops here…” She broke off from the group and strode up to one building and ducked, peering right into its dark window.

 

To her surprise, out of the shadows inside, a hand reached up to quickly pull down some blinds, preventing Moonbyul from spying. “Hey-!” she cried and moved to the door, knocking on it repeatedly. “Hello? Hello, we're travelers looking for the inn! Do you have one of those here? And we want to buy supplies!”

 

“Go away!”

 

Moonbyul paused only for a moment in disbelief before she tried the door handle. “We’re not with the Empire, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she strained as she tugged.

 

From the street, Joy put a hand over her face before turning away to see if there was anyone else they could accost. There, peeking out from behind the corner of another building, Joy saw a girl watching them.

 

“Hey!” she shouted, but the girl immediately withdrew. It was very indecorous, but the entire situation was so odd that Joy gave chase.

 

“Wait,” Seulgi called out futilely. “We shouldn’t… separate.” But Joy was already gone, having dove into the shadows between the structures. Seulgi herself would have made to follow, but she felt Irene grab her hand, and when she looked back at the ex-general, Irene shook her head.

 

This didn’t stop Yeri, however, and she too took off after the queen. “Joy, wait-!”

 

Behind the buildings were overgrown lanes of grass, broken up by sections of wooden fence - this was truly a backwater village by Figaro standards, but Joy vaulted over the partitions with ease as she chased after the girl.

 

“Joy!” Yeri huffed as she scrambled over the fencing and raced after the queen. They were heading away from the cluster of buildings towards the edge of the forest, and this was not a section of the world that was forgiving to curious explorers.

 

“Should we go after them?” Seulgi asked worriedly. She had preemptively drawn her sword at the flurry of activity, but let its tip rest against the broken cobblestone.

 

Solji shook her head. “There’s really no need for any of that… Yeri has contacts here.”

 

“She does??” Junghwa sputtered. “Then why didn’t she say so in the first place?”

 

Solji crossed her arms. “Because it was none of our business, really. But I suppose it is now. Yeri knows a man here, an apothecary with ‘special talents’ and she’s been paying him to do some work for her for years.”

 

Junghwa snapped her fingers suddenly in understanding. “Oh, is this about-?”

 

“Saeron. This is where… her body’s being kept,” Solji confirmed.

 

Luckily the little girl veered off, heading for a crumbling manor tucked away just beyond the treeline of the forest, and not into the heart of the wild woods. Joy did not relent, chasing her all the way up until the front door the little girl slammed in her face.

 

Joy pounded on the door. “Wait… we just… want to… talk,” she gasped between breaths.

 

“No! Go away!” the little girl cried, and the terror in her voice seemed to bring Joy back to her senses.

 

“Stop scaring them!” Yeri admonished as she finally caught up to the queen. “It’s like Moonbyul said, they don’t trust outsiders. We shouldn’t have come here with such a large group.”

 

“If they know you, then why did they run?” Joy asked exasperatedly.

 

Yeri took Joy by the sleeve and started pulling her away from the manor, back towards the cluster of buildings where the others waited for them. “I don’t know all of them. I was coming here for… something very specific, and it’s not like I was coming all that often… I've really only been here a few times in the past couple years, and it's... for something even the other folks around here might not… approve of,” she ended in a low murmur.

 

Joy was silent for a moment before she paused, pulling out of Yeri’s grasp. “... Do you smell that?”

 

Yeri tested the air before finally stopping herself. “Yeah? It smells like smoke, someone’s probably-”

 

She was cut off by a scream from behind them in the manor and the two rushed back to the door. “Hey! Are you alright?” Joy cried anew as she pounded on the door, but when she tried the handle, to her surprise it was hot. “Ah- hey, I don’t think that’s a normal fire…” she said as she shook out her scorched hand.

 

The screams quickly turned to plaintive cries. Yeri moved to peer into one of the windows near the door, but the glass suddenly exploded outwards, and the draft of air was caught in a roar of flame. Yeri had to jump back to save herself from being singed. “How??” was all she could ask as she raised an arm to her face and made her way back to Joy. How could such a violent fire have started so quickly?

 

“I don’t know, but we’ve got to… get her… out of there!” Joy grunted as she began kicking at the door with her heel.

 

“Where’s your chainsaw?” Yeri asked as she timed her own kicks with Joy’s.

 

“On the… ship!” Joy lamented as they ceased their ineffectual kicking. “I’ll get the others, you try to find another window you can climb in through,” she ordered, already sprinting back towards the village proper. “And don’t do anything dangerous!”

 

Yeri couldn’t decide which smart comment to throw back at Joy before the queen was already gone. Instead she began jogging around the manor, looking for another way in, but it seemed each window she passed was already fogged with smoke, the heat radiating through and heating her cheeks as she tried desperately to peer inside.

 

“Don’t do anything dangerous… Well what are we trying to do right now?” she muttered to herself before she finally pulled her satchel in front of herself, rifling through its contents to look for one particular potion - a flask of holy water. It was larger than the other bottles, and might at least protect her for a moment…

 

She set her satchel down on the ground and took her bandana out of her hair. Wrapping it around her hand for some added protection against the glass, she smashed the window with the of one of her daggers. A few flames out from the gap, and she ducked until they receeded - this certianly wasn't her brightest idea, but she couldn't leave that girl in there while she waited for the others. Without hesitation, she grimmaced and punched a wider hole before emptying the flask of holy water over herself. Fully doused in the most expensive water money could buy, she scrambled up and over the sill, pulling herself inside.

 

The manor was engulfed with flames, and Yeri had to duck past the crumbling walls and chunks of smoldering ceiling that fell all around. The holy water she had doused herself in was long since evaporated and already burned from the smoke, and yet she tried to call out for the girl as she pushed farther inside.

 

“Hey! Hello? Hey, we’re here to help! Say something and I’ll come find you!”

 

Only the roar of the flames answered her, but at the end of the hall she saw a figure rush up a staircase, and Yeri gave chase. “Hey, wait-!” Tears streamed down her face as her eyes watered and she grasped the banister as she pulled herself up the steps, higher into the cloud of smoke. “Not… up. Come back…”

 

As Yeri reached the landing on the second floor on her hands and knees, she saw the little girl finally, huddled in a corner at the far end of a hallway. “Good…” Yeri coughed as she laid on the floor, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. “Stay… stay right there… I’m coming…”

 

I’m coming.

 

I’m…

 

+++

 

“How long are you going to keep following me for?” Yeri asked as she looked over the notes one last time before stuffing them back into her satchel.

 

“Hmm? What do you mean? I said I’d be your guide, didn’t I?” Saeron replied nonchalantly.

 

Yeri glanced at the innkeeper’s daughter, who was not at all dressed for the trip. “And I said no thanks, remember? Your father gave me directions to the cave - I should be fine after that.”

 

Saeron pouted. “You always stop through and stay at our inn, but you never let me tag along.”

 

Yeri rolled her eyes. “And? Listen, why would you want to come with me, anyway? This isn’t some casual walk through the woods, I’m working.”

 

“So let me work, too. We can be a team!”

 

“What can you do? Have you ever even traveled outside of this town? And why would I want to split my profits, anyway?” Yeri wasn’t at all about to entertain this girl’s wanderlust at her own expense.

 

“Don’t underestimate me!” Saeron huffed, striding on ahead of Yeri. “I may not have been able to travel like you, but I know all about this town, and everything around it. You want to get into that cave? I’ve explored it before, I can show you the best routes!”

 

Yeri cocked her head to the side as she caught up with the girl. “What do you mean you’ve already explored it? You’ve been in there and you didn’t find…?” But she stopped herself.

 

“Hmm?” Saeron prompted, turning around and walking backwards as she faced Yeri. “What are you here for this time, anyway?”

 

Yeri shifted her satchel uncomfortably. “Nothing. …I’ll know it when I see it.”

 

“So… not ‘nothing’, then, hmm? Which is it?” Saeron stopped in front of Yeri and reached for her bag.

 

“Hey!” Yeri said as she swung the bag out of her reach. “It’s none of your business! Listen, just let me pass!”

 

Saeron stepped aside, but fell into step with Yeri, and they walked a ways in silence. It wasn’t long before Saeron had yet another question for Yeri, however. “Who do you work for, anyway? No one around here, right? You never stay for very long…”

 

Yeri sighed. “Whoever pays, and lately no one is able to beat the Empire’s prices.”

 

“The Empire?!”

 

“Keep it down, will you?” Yeri muttered, though they had long left the outskirts of the village and the woods surrounded them on either side. “They’ve got the gil, so why shouldn’t I take it from them?”

 

Saeron made a derisive noise. “Sure, if you like being the lackey of a megalomaniac like the Emperor. You heard what they’ve done on the Southern Continent, right?” she asked, silently counting off Tzen, Maranda, and Albrook with her fingers. “What makes you think the Empire will stop there?”

 

Yeri glared over at her. “Like I said, you don’t have to tag along. I wouldn’t want you to go against your ‘morals’.”

 

Saeron frowned, looking at Yeri anew. “Is it naive?”

 

Yeri opened with a ready answer, but swallowed it after another moment. Instead she decided to shift the conversation. “... I’m a treasure hunter.” She dug around in her satchel and pulled out her notes. She paused for a moment before passing the first page over to Saeron. “I hunt rare treasures all over the world, and the Empire’s seeking the rarest of them all.”

 

Saeron scanned the page, her brows furrowing in confusion. “But this is…”

 

“A myth, right? A legend. Who would be dumb enough to pay that much for a children’s bedtime story?” Yeri offered with a smirk.

 

“The Empire is… looking for Phoenix? The god?!” Yeri took the page back and returned it to her bag as Saeron gaped at her. “And you think it’s in Mt. Kolts Cave?!”

 

“I have some leads…” Yeri calmly intoned. “But the point is, yes it’s for the Empire, but imagine it! Imagine finding something like that! Why would the Empire bother putting out a contract for it if they didn’t truly believe it exists out there somewhere?”

 

Saeron was still in shock, staring at Yeri’s back as she kept walking. “Wait!” she yelped as she trotted to catch up. “And you’re taking them seriously?”

 

“They gave me the information they have, and an advance to cover expenses, so… why not?”

 

As Saeron regarded her, Yeri watched a smile dawn across her face. It was quite enchanting in its way, and Yeri momentarily forgot what they were arguing about.
 

“There’s no way you can stop me from coming with you now!” Saeron exclaimed, grabbing Yeri’s arm. “I’ve never seen anything like that before in Mt. Kolts but I haven’t been all the way to the top, either. The caves cut through the mountain like worms in an apple. We’re bound to find some clues!”

 

Yeri grimaced at the analogy, but Saeron’s enthusiasm was infectious. Maybe having a ‘guide’ wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all, though, “There’ll likely be feral creatures and monsters in a cave system that big… Do you know how to defend yourself?”

 

“You’re the experienced, world-traveled Treasure Hunter, right?” Saeron pouted. “You can protect me if we run into any trouble.”

 

It took the pair several days to explore the various twists and turns of the caverns around the base of Mt. Kolts before they decided they would need to ascend to reach the tunnels above, the ones far less traversed by intrepid spelunkers.

 

“Up we go,” Yeri grunted as she hoisted Saeron the last little bit up to the top of the cliff. It served as a wide entrance to yet another yawning cave that beckoned the duo inside. “So these rope bridges… If no one comes up here, who made them?” Yeri asked, eyeing one dubiously that stretched from their cliff across the foggy chasm to another cliff top, no doubt.

 

Saeron was lying on the ground catching her breath, but she popped an eye open to look at the bridge. “Those? I have no idea. But I do know there used to be some monk guru or something who used to train up here with his students, but that was a long time ago. Maybe they used these?”

 

“Well, hopefully we won’t have to. They don’t look very secure… Come on, let’s get inside already.” Yeri held a hand out to Saeron and she grasped it readily, pulling herself back onto her feet. They turned and entered the cave, yet another maze of tunnels full of pits and ravines, narrow passages, and dead ends.

 

“You know,” Yeri said as she squeezed through a tight opening, following Saeron into a large cavern, “You might not know which one is the pointy end on a dagger, but you’re not bad at this whole exploring thing.”

 

Saeron winked back at her in the gloom penetrated only by their lanterns. “I told you! Though I’ve never been this high up - it’s all new to me.” Her voice carried an excited hush as she trekked on ahead, forcing Yeri to hustle to keep up.

 

“We’ve been at this for days with nothing to show for it-” She paused as she watched Saeron test the ground ahead with her toe before committing to a crossing an impressive mineral deposit that spanned two massive stalagmites like a natural bridge. Maybe she should take the lead after all. “I’ve got some other leads - if Phoenix isn’t here, he might be up north in Narshe.”

 

“Narshe? That’s really far!” Saeron exclaimed, her voice echoing off the walls far beyond the rings of their lanterns. “We’ll have to be way more prepared for that adventure.”

 

“... We?” Yeri asked, pausing as she reached the end of the natural bridge. She raised her lantern high to see where it had taken them, but it seemed like it was yet another dead end. An island of limestone in a sea of blackness. They’d have to turn back.

 

“Of course!” Saeron replied. “You said it yourself, I’m good at this sort of thing. And two heads are better than one, and all that. What’s the problem? You don’t want some company?” She also came to the same conclusion as Yeri and came back to stand in front of her with a hand on her hip.

 

Yeri lowered her lantern as she looked away. “It’s not that…” Truthfully, this little jaunt through Mt. Kolts’s cave system had been the most fun Yeri had had treasure hunting in a while. Someone to talk to, someone to help navigate and brainstorm with, even if that also meant someone to protect and look after.

 

“Then what’s the big deal? We’ll finish this up and then prepare for the next journey!”

 

Yeri couldn’t help smiling. “And your father? What would he think? Does he even know where you are now?”

 

“He does,” she answered vaguely. Saeron ducked past Yeri and started across the natural bridge, a little more confident this time since they had already made the crossing once before, though she did keep a careful gaze on her feet.

 

“Uh, huh?” Yeri could tell she was hedging. If there was one thing Yeri had learned about Saeron these past few days, it was that the girl wasn’t subtle. “And he would be ok with you going off with some stranger to the far north to explore more caves?” She wasn’t in a hurry to back track and waited for Saeron’s answer before moving.

 

“Why not? What’s he got to do with it?”

 

“And why would you want to come with me, anyway?”

 

Saeron paused there in the middle of her crossing, the black abyss swallowing up the light of her lantern on either side of the narrow, limestone bridge. She finally raised her gaze and turned back to look at Yeri. “Do you really want to know?”

 

Yeri balked at the question. She suddenly felt her face flush, though her mind was blank. What kind of question was that? As Yeri struggled to answer, she saw something looming past Saeron’s shoulder, a shadowy face with a pair of large, yellow eyes. As Yeri opened to shout, the face suddenly lit up in a bright orange-red, revealing its round, floating body and its fiery disposition.

 

“A bomb! Saeron, get away from it!”

 

“B-but…!” Saeron stammered as she turned to see the floating creature that grinned back at her wickedly. She began to back away from it fearfully, but her footing was treacherous and Yeri’s heart leapt into as she watched Saeron stumble before dropping onto her hands and knees to keep from falling into the blackness.

 

“Hang on, I’m coming!” Yeri shouted as she started across the bridge.

 

She was barely able to take two steps before the bomb rocked the cavern with an explosion, throwing Yeri back onto the limestone island. Rocks and debris rained down from the ceiling as her ears rang with the blast. She scrambled back to her feet, expelling dust from her lungs as she held her lantern aloft, searching for signs of Saeron.

 

“Saeron! Saeron?” she called as she made her way back towards the bridge.

 

But it was gone.

 

As the dust continued to clear, she could see the shattered end of the natural limestone bridge and the black ravine beyond. There was no bomb, and there was no Saeron.

 

“SAERON!!!”

 

“... Yeri?” Yeri finally heard it, a weak, choked voice echoing up from the bottom of the chasm and Yeri knelt on the edge of the island holding her lantern over the cliff.

 

“Saeron? Saeron, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

 

“... Y-yeah… I'm hurt... pretty bad...”

 

Yeri teared up at the pained reply and quickly pulled her rope from her satchel. “Hold on, Saeron. Hang on, I’m coming! I’m coming…”

 

I’m coming.